Atlanta has held talks with Utah about trades for Trae Young and Dejounte Murray

The 2024 NBA offseason is in full swing and one of the first big trades of the summer was sending Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance and two first-round picks. The Hawks were looking to break up Murray and Young’s backcourt this summer and opted to trade Murray to New Orleans. Atlanta appears ready to try to retool the roster around Young and they have done so so far.

The top target on the NBA trade market right now is Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen. Interestingly, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported that before Murray was traded, Utah and Atlanta had discussions about both guards, as Utah was looking to add pieces around Markkanen to try to entice Paul George to sign with them:

“The Jazz welcome calls about Markkanen, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Perhaps Utah will end up having an offseason similar to Brooklyn’s, where the Nets once considered adding star talent alongside Mikal Bridges before determining their best course of action was to begin a rebuild — thanks to a massive trade from New York. The Jazz, as previously reported on Yahoo Sports, were considering trading Bridges, had conversations with Atlanta about Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, sources said, and were working to assemble a group around Markkanen that could have eventually caught George’s attention.

This latest round of negotiations around Markkanen could well be simply an attempt by the Jazz to gather information from interested teams, or an effort to solicit some sort of exorbitant offer comparable to the five first-round picks, plus an additional unprotected pick swap from the Knicks for Bridges. The Jazz have thus far indicated to various parties around the NBA that they would still like to renegotiate and extend Markkanen’s contract when both sides are eligible to do so in August, sources said, and that listening to offers for Markkanen is simply part of doing good business.

This is an interesting report, but it doesn’t say how serious those discussions were. Utah is a team that could have offered Atlanta a lot of picks for Young, but I don’t think any player could have made the deal.

It now appears that Utah could trade Markkanen and begin a full rebuild with the assets they have. Could Atlanta be a team intrigued by him?

With the moves the Hawks made this week, they are building a better roster around Young, something they haven’t done so far in his career or at least since reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. The Hawks got valuable 2025 and 2027 draft picks they didn’t have, plus they added one of the NBA’s best young defenders in Daniels, a perfect complement to Young in the backcourt. Atlanta drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick in the NBA draft, once again showing their plan to add defense and size this offseason. It appears the Hawks have a plan in place for their roster and they aren’t done adding pieces just yet.

What they shouldn’t do is rush back and try to make another big trade. That’s what they did when they traded for Dejounte Murray in the summer of 2022 and they can’t risk doing it again. Atlanta made two crucial mistakes that summer: 1) They rushed and thought they were closer to contending than they actually were and 2) They traded for the wrong player in Murray. Murray is a good player in his own right, but he wasn’t a good fit for Young and the Hawks overpaid for him.

There have been no reports this summer that the Hawks are moving Markkanen, but he has been mentioned as a potential trade target. Back in December, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer had this to say about a potential Markkanen trade and mentioned Atlanta:

“Lauri Markkanen did indeed emerge as an intriguing, if unlikely, trade candidate before the February buzzer. The Jazz were considering competing more in the Western Conference after Markkanen became an All-Star in his first season in Salt Lake City, league sources told Yahoo Sports, while Utah reached out to Portland to acquire Damian Lillard and then Jrue Holiday before this season was announced. Moving on from Markkanen would mark a dramatic change in direction from trying to add an All-NBA caliber point guard to lead Utah’s offense alongside Markkanen’s versatile skill set.

But Markkanen’s status has already generated and will continue to generate significant buzz around the league if Utah continues to meet the demands of its rivals. It would be malpractice for management not to at least understand what it would take to get Markkanen. League personnel believe three teams in particular value the Finnish forward at this early stage of trade talks. Two of those apparent suitors, Sacramento and Atlanta, make sense given the Kings’ and Hawks’ respective approaches for Siakam. The third team league personnel continue to mention to watch for a potential Markkanen approach is Oklahoma City, suddenly second in the West with a treasure trove of first-round picks.

The consensus is that Utah couldn’t trade Markkanen unless they got a massive offer and that’s usually the kind of deal Danny Ainge makes. Markkanen is entering the final year of his contract and is expected to get a massive extension. If Utah doesn’t want to give him that contract, they could try to trade him for the right deal. He might be the best player on the trade market and this has been a remarkable career turnaround for Markkanen. After being a solid but not great player with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, Markkanen has been an All-Star with the Jazz. This season, the 2.13m wing averaged 23.2 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48% from the field and 40% from three-point range. He’s one of the best offensive players in the game and it would be easy to see why teams would want him.

While I think Markkanen is a better fit for the Hawks than Murray, Atlanta would have to pay more for him and use the rest of their assets to get him. That would likely cost the Hawks the 2025 pick they acquired from the Lakers, the 2027 pick they acquired in the New Orleans trade, and their own 2028 picks. Atlanta would be making the same mistake they did two summers ago when they traded for Murray. Markkanen is a good player, but he’s not going to turn the Hawks into a Finals contender overnight. If the Hawks got him, they’d still be behind Boston and New York in the Eastern Conference, and depending on what Philadelphia and Milwaukee do, they could be behind them. Markkanen gives them size and shooting, but his defense isn’t his strong suit. He would undoubtedly be a prolific offensive player alongside Trae Young, but the only way massive trades like this work is if you’re a Finals contender and I don’t think Markkanen is.

The bottom of the Eastern Conference allows Atlanta to be a play-in team with their current roster and could even be a top-six seed if things go right. This is a better roster around Young and all the pieces are coming together better, much like the 2021 Conference Finals team. I’m not saying this team will do that, but the structure of the team makes more sense than it did the last two seasons. There are still moves to make for the Hawks this offseason, including potential deals for Clint Capela, Larry Nance, and possibly De’Andre Hunter. The Hawks should continue to add the right pieces to their roster, but making a blockbuster deal for Lauri Markkanen shouldn’t be one of those moves. Atlanta should remain patient and continue to build their roster, which they did this offseason. It appears Atlanta finally has a plan to build a roster around Young and they shouldn’t step on the gas too soon again.